Witch Bait

by Kate Allenton

  This might not have anything to do with the painting, but I somehow doubted it. Love and revenge topped the list for reasons a killer might choose their target.

  “What about any unhappy clients who’d bought her paintings?” I asked. I didn’t know a thing about paintings, but maybe she’d had a falling-out with one of the clients.

  “Not that I know of, although she didn’t tell me much about her interaction with them.”

  “Her mother mentioned that Katrina was acting suspicious and out of sorts. Did you notice anything?”

  “I don’t know if you’d consider it suspicious, but last time I saw Katrina, I came home to find her and James arguing.”

  “Do you know what about?” I asked.

  She slowly shook her head. “Sorry, no. They quit talking when I came home, and James couldn’t get out of here fast enough.”

  “Thanks for your time,” King said, pulling a card out of his wallet and handing it to Myra. “If you remember anything else, give us a call.”

  Myra smiled and led the way to the door.

  “Do you know where we can find Nadia?” I asked.

  “She works at the hair salon in town. I saw her leaving when I went out for my morning jog.”

  “Stylz. I know the place.” King answered.

  I didn’t speak again until we were seated and buckled in his SUV. “Looks like we’ve got two possible motives now for Katrina’s death.”

  A black sedan was parked next to us with out-of-town plates. “Wonder who she’s meeting?”

  I shrugged. For all we knew, it was someone coming to join their exercising, hard-working cult. “New blood for their cult.”

  King’s grin grew as he drove down the bumpy road. “You didn’t like the compound?”

  “Not one bit,” I answered honestly. I was leaving with more questions than we’d arrived with. What had my father been up to getting those women pregnant, and what was his pact?

  King drove into town and pulled up outside the salon. “Nadia’s the one with spiky purple hair.”

  King’s phone rang, and he was told they had a hit on where James was holed up. I slipped out of the SUV before he even put it in reverse. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m in need of a trim. I’ll let you know what I find out.” I winked and shut the door before he could object.

  Chapter 13

  The bell above the door chimed as I entered. The smell of bleach, tempered with floral shampoo, smacked me in the face. There was an older woman seated having her hair set in tight curls. Three other hair stylists were seated in their stations, none moving.

  “Welcome to Stylz,” one of them said with less enthusiasm than I’d seen in Friday the cat after a belly full of his favorite supper.

  “I was hoping Nadia was free,” I said.

  Nadia’s eyes narrowed for a brief second before she rose from her seat and patted her chair.

  I sat down, and she stared at my reflection in the mirror before leaning down to whisper in my ear. “I know why you’re here.”

  “You do?”

  She ran her fingers through my hair and turned the chair to face her. “You don’t even have any split ends. If you want to talk, all you had to do was say so. Come on, I’m due for a break, so I’ll buy you a coffee before that witch starts her shift.”

  Witch wasn’t what she meant when referring to Myra. Her tone was angry, yet I followed her out the door and to the coffee shop down the street. We both ordered and took a seat.

  “Why would you buy me coffee?” I asked.

  “Hilda told all of us to be nice to you three in the hopes you’d rejoin the coven, but personally, I don’t blame you for staying away. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t still be living there. But that’s not why you’re here, so what do you want?”

  “To ask you about Katrina.”

  “She’s dead.” Nadia cupped her coffee.

  “You’ve heard?”

  “Hard not to in this small town, not to mention our coven. I was there the day the cops came to inform her mother. If you’re wanting to know if I killed her, the answer is no.”

  “Not even after she was the reason that James broke up with you?”

  Nadia’s lips twisted. “Let me guess. Myra told you that.”

  “It’s a small town.” I threw the answer back at her.

  Nadia signed. “I’m not surprised she’s trying to point the finger at me. She’s a liar, and she lied to you just like she did Katrina. She wanted James for herself, although he’d broken up with her to be with me.”

  “She told me that he broke up with you after his sister told him about seeing you with another guy.”

  She gasped, and the room around us quieted. “More lies. I dumped him. Let’s face it. He’s a lifer here in this hellhole, and I have plans to get out that don’t include being tied down to a con man. James is just like his brother, Damien.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “The night I broke up with him Katrina was at his house when I showed up. They were both dressed in black and looked panicked that I was there. Kind of squirrely, like they were both up to no good.”

  “What night was that?”

  “I think it was a day or two after Mildred died, if I recall correctly.”

  “How?”

  “He didn’t chase after me. You see, James and I were slated for each other. Our magical pairing would have solidified Hilda’s hold on the coven. Every time we broke up, he came back begging me to take him back. This time he said he didn’t need me anymore and that he had other options in the works.”

  “Do you have any idea what options he was talking about?”

  She shrugged. “No clue. You’ll have to ask him.”

  “Any idea where I can find him?”

  “Sure.” She grinned. “He has a second place off coven property up on Highway 22 where he liked to take me so we could be alone. It’s the only cabin on the lake. You can’t miss it.”

  Nadia rose, and I did too. “One more question.”

  She sighed, “What?”

  “Why would you marrying James solidify Hilda’s hold over the coven?”

  Nadia’s face quirked. “You really have no idea?”

  I shook my head. “I wouldn’t be asking if I did.”

  “You know how your dad made a blood pact with your mom. Let’s just say Hilda’s deal was with the devil, and with you and your sisters showing up, she knows her time is limited. My great grandmother was also a founder of the coven. If James and I got hitched, that would have transferred more power to Hilda.” Nadia stepped closer. “Don’t underestimate that woman. Greed runs through her veins like lava burning everything in her path.” Nadia shrugged. “I may just have to stick around to see how this all plays out.”

  I walked with Nadia out of the coffee shop and toward the salon just as Myra was pulling up.

  “Thanks for your help.”

  “Anytime.” Nadia pulled the salon door open and paused. “Oh, and let me give you a piece of advice.”

  I raised my brow.

  “Hilda will try and suck you in. Don’t let her. You don’t owe her or the coven anything, no matter what she thinks.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Nadia moistened her lips. “You’ll see, but I’d advise that the next time you go out to the coven, you best be packing more than King’s gun. It also wouldn’t hurt to have your sisters there to tap into their energy. Hilda may have everyone else fooled, but she doesn’t fool me. She’s experienced, and judging from the looks of you, you’re like a kindergartener with lunch money hanging out of your pocket. Easy prey. She won’t go down without a fight.”

  “Good thing I’m not after her coven.”

  “Not yet.” Nadia chuckled as she headed inside.

  Not ever. I spun on my heels and started walking back toward the inn with a new respect for what my mother had done in whisking me away from this place. I stepped through the gate and steered around the metal lawn ornaments t
o find Noah sitting on the swing with a glass of iced tea. He held it out to me and patted the seat next to him.

  “How did it go?” he asked.

  “Not good.” I sighed and told him all about Hilda, and the little I knew about my dad’s pact, and how we were no closer to figuring out who killed Katrina than when we’d found her.

  “What about the police investigation?”

  “They got a lead on James, but I haven’t heard back from King yet. What have you been doing all day?”

  “I talked to Dad earlier. He’s worried about you. You haven’t called him in weeks.”

  I smacked his leg. “Tell me you didn’t say anything about the attempted kidnapping.”

  “Tess, he had a right to know. He loves you and considers you his, but don’t worry. I told him I’m staying until all of this gets resolved.”

  I rubbed my palms against my eyes. The last thing I needed was for him to show up and get in the middle of all this. “What are Georgia and Margo doing?”

  “Margo is meeting with the attorney in the kitchen, and Georgia is in the library searching through some old books looking for answers about the hex and the symbol. She’s convinced it was used to kill her mother.”

  I let out a long sigh. “I can’t blame her. The symbol was drawn on the floor beneath her rug. I’d think so too.”

  “The burning question eating at her is, who would want her mother dead? I told her that you and I would help her figure it out.”

  A small smile played on my lips. “You like her,” I teased.

  The red tint on his cheeks told me everything I needed to know. “She’s a pistol, full of fire and heart.”

  I leaned my head against his shoulder. “My brother has a crush. I’ve never gotten to tease you before.”

  He tossed his arm around my shoulders and rested his head on top of mine. “I’ve missed you, Tess.”

  The door swung open, and Margo marched out. “I said no, and you can’t make me.”

  The attorney was quick to follow. “Margo, your grandmother was very specific.”

  Margo spun around on him and stalked back, getting into his face and making the attorney step back. “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. I’m not one of her puppets on a string like my other sisters.” Margo glanced toward me. “No offense, Tess.”

  I held up my hands. I knew what I’d signed up for. “None taken.”

  Margo turned her glare back on the attorney. “You can’t buy my silence.”

  Noah leaned in. “This is getting good.”

  I rose from my spot. “Mr. Stevens, Margo is under no obligation to agree to Mildred’s terms, whatever they may be. I’m not sure you’re aware, but we’ve got some issues we’re dealing with at the moment. Maybe this isn’t the best time to discuss things.”

  “I don’t need time to think about it,” Margo growled. “She wants me to live in town with you and Georgia.”

  “That’s not so bad,” I offered, not seeing the problem.

  “That’s not even the half of it.” She held up her hands and spun around, heading for the fence. “This conversation is over.”

  Chapter 14

  Dinner had come and gone as I sat out on the porch with King. He’d returned to tell me that James wasn’t at the location and officers were sitting on the residence waiting for his return. I updated him on the love triangle and what Nadia had informed me about James, Myra, and herself and how Hilda was determined that James court Nadia. He’d been quiet through it all, taking mental notes.

  “Maybe we should go look for Margo,” I suggested.

  “If I were her, I wouldn’t be coming back,” Friday announced, perching on the railing. “Mildred has it in her will that Margo needs to produce offspring to carry on the Hexford line. She has one year to find a suitable wizard and another year to get pregnant.”

  “Friday,” I gasped. “You eavesdropped.”

  “What else do you expect me to do? Change me back into a man and I’m in the first cab out of here.”

  “No wonder she was pissed,” King said.

  The moon was high in the sky before I noticed King’s gaze going up and down the street. Worry etched his face as he rose. “I’ll go look for her. Maybe she got lost.”

  “Or hurt,” Georgia said, stepping outside with Noah behind her. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

  I knew exactly what she was talking about because I had that uneasy feeling of dread running through my body, along with the quickening heartbeat, without a viable reason, that unspoken intuition I couldn’t explain that something was wrong.

  “She’s hurt,” Georgia said.

  “I know. I can feel it,” I answered, trying to keep positive that it was just a twisted ankle and nothing else.

  “You should scry for her,” Friday announced. “That’s how Mildred found all of you. She used her dangling crystal and a map.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Noah added. “I’ll go look for a map.”

  “I’m going to go next door and call it in to the station so patrols know to look out for her.” King squeezed my hand before heading next door.

  “Let me guess. You’ve never scryed before?” Georgia asked.

  I shook my head. “I didn’t know I was even a witch until a month ago.”

  “No time like the present to learn. Let me grab my crystal and something of Margo’s for us to concentrate on. With any luck, we’ll nail it on the first try.”

  We thought we screwed up on the first and second try. When the third landed again at the lake, it finally clicked why.

  “I know where she is.” I ran to get the keys, only to have Noah take them from my hands.

  “I’m going with Georgia. She and I are better equipped to handle James if he uses magic. You said it yourself, you’re barely trained.”

  “Hey,” I grumbled. I had saved Livvy not long ago. I knew how to create bubbles, but maybe in this case, that wasn’t enough. What if I did go and wasn’t able to help? “You’re right.”

  I sighed and headed back inside to the library to continue the search for the symbol while checking my watch every five minutes. I texted King to warn him where Noah and Georgia were headed in the event they actually needed a police backup.

  Georgia had pulled down every witch-type book from the shelves and had them spread over the big table that sat in the middle of the room. Without knowing which ones, she’d skimmed, and where she stopped, I grabbed a few more books and started to rifle through those pages for answers on any hex associated with the design.

  Friday’s screech roared through the silent house and sound as though he was fighting a rat. I abandoned my book and rounded the corner to find James holding Friday in cat form by the throat.

  “I should kill him.”

  I held up my hands. “Don’t hurt him. Please. Put him down and tell me what you want.”

  He tossed Friday to the floor. Friday yelled, “run,” and shifted into his puma form. I ran for the stairs and was on the second level when the gunshot went off. My lungs burned as I glanced down to find Friday lying on the floor, blood oozing from his leg.

  “Run, Tess.”

  His weak words spurred me on as I took the stairs two at a time to the third floor. I ran like the hounds of hell were on my tail as I skidded into my room and locked the door behind me, shoving a chair under the handle. I slid into the closet and pulled out my phone, texting King. He’s here, he’s here.

  I heard the chair screech across the hardwood floor and peered through the slatted closet door, watching as the chair moved by itself across the room. The door opened, and James walked in.

  “There’s nowhere to go, little witch.”

  I held the phone to my chest and clung to the amulet around my neck as my only hope that magic wouldn’t factor into James’ attempt to hurt me. It was a double-edged sword. Whereas no magic could attack, I also couldn’t perform any to save my life.

  James picked up the book on the bed and chuckled. “They kept yo
u in the dark. That should make this simple.”

  He tossed the book back onto the bed and whispered words that made all of my drawers fly open. I held my breath as he turned toward the closet.

  As soon as the handle started to move, I got ready and grabbed one of my heels, clutching it with the heel facing out, as it the only weapon I could find. The doors opened in full, and I flew out of the closet and attacked him with the heel.

  His fist came hard and fast against my cheek before he yanked me into his arms. I wrenched the amulet from my neck and dropped it, trying to put him in a bubble seconds before the crack against my skull. Darkness sucked me under.

  Chapter 15

  My head pounded as I woke, keeping my eyes closed. The familiar scent of forest filled my nostrils.

  “Tess.” Margo’s whisper was frantic.

  I peeked beneath my lashes to be blinded by the overhead light, earning a moan.

  “Tess, wake up,” she said.

  I covered my face with my hand and eased my eyes open to find I was lying on a mattress in an unfamiliar room.

  “Oh thank God. I thought he’d killed you. You’ve been knocked out for an entire day.” She breathed out in relief.

  “Where are we?” My throat scratched in dryness as Margo limped across the room with a water bottle. She held it to my lips and eased the bottle up. The cooling water slid down my throat like a lifeline I hadn’t realized I needed.

  “I don’t know. All I can see are trees through the windows.”

  I eased to sit up, finally glancing around the room, and gasped to find a design painted on the walls that I’d seen only on the amulet that I’d been wearing around my neck. I rested my hand over where it normally rested. “That’s the design on my pendant. It blocks magic.”

  “He must think we’re more powerful than we know,” she said.

  “Rumor has it that we are,” I announced.

  I eased my feet over the side of the mattress and rose on wobbly legs, trying to keep the room in focus. “How much witchcraft do you know?”